Group antenatal care, initially developed in the U.S. several decades ago, is a promising model that responds to women’s health and information concerns during pregnancy. Management Sciences for Health is testing the feasibility and acceptability of person-centered, group antenatal care in the context of eastern Uganda…read more
Meeting the Maternal and Newborn Needs of Displaced Persons in Urban Settings
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More than 60% of the world’s refugees and 80% of internally displaced persons now live in urban areas. However, a dearth of skilled birth attendants, such as doctors and midwives, in poor urban areas often leaves women and newborns at risk. On 31 May, a panel of experts gathered at the Wilson Center to discuss ways to improve maternal and newborn health care for displaced persons in urban areas…read more
Karamoja’s Mothers and Children Reap the Benefits of Health Systems Investments
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Six years ago, only 27% of women in Karamoja delivered in health facilities and the regional maternal mortality rate was 750 per 100,000 live births—among the highest in the world. Last year, 73% of Karamoja’s mothers delivered in health facilities, and medical officers say the maternal mortality rate has sharply declined as a result. So what happened?…read more
After Fistula Repair: Understanding Women’s Needs in Uganda
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To better understand the long-term outcomes of fistula repair, Makerere University in Uganda and the University of California, San Francisco recently conducted a longitudinal study to develop a measure of post-surgical reintegration success and document physical and mental health changes among repaired clients…read more
Ensuring Safer Pregnancies for Kenyan Women in Urban Slums
Posted onKenya has a relatively high maternal mortality ratio at 488 deaths per 100,000 live births, and also faced substantial socioeconomic and geographic disparities. Many causes of maternal death can be prevented with timely access to high quality antenatal care (ANC). A recent study investigated factors associated with the timing and frequency of ANC among women living in the slums of Nairobi…read more
Diabetes in Pregnancy: A Neglected Cause of Maternal Mortality
Posted onDiabetes in pregnancy is on the rise globally, currently affecting roughly 14 million women every year. As with most problems related to pregnancy complications, diabetes in pregnancy is more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, which account for 88% of cases worldwide. Yet the countries where diabetes in pregnancy is most prevalent are the least likely to offer routine screening and treatment…read more
Beyond Reproductive and Maternal Health: Non-Communicable Diseases and Women’s Health
Posted onOn 15 March 2017, Management Sciences for Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Women Deliver, Novo Nordisk and the NCD Alliance hosted a panel discussion during the Commission on the Status of Women to call for the integration of the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) into the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health continuum of care…read more
For India, Achieving the Next Generation of Maternal Health Goals Requires New Approaches
Posted onLast month, nearly 50 researchers, practitioners and advocates from across India, and a few from beyond its borders, gathered to discuss strategies for improving maternal health at the new Mumbai outpost of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as part of a two-day workshop organized by the Wilson Center and Maternal Health Task Force…read more
Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Realities: Results From the First Global Midwifery Survey
Posted onDespite Differences in Culture, the United States and India Fall Short in Childbirth in Similar Ways
Posted onObstetrician Neel Shah explains how a trip to India for the 2017 Human Rights in Childbirth meeting led him to a humbling realization: When it comes to childbirth, both India and the United States fall short in surprisingly similar ways. In both countries, women often receive either too little or too much care…read more